After a six-year break, SuicideGirls are back — and, if not better, at least as good as ever.

The Los Angeles troupe is staging a new Blackheart Burlesque Tour after being on ice since 2007. Four of the five dancers are new to the show, which has been choreographed by Manwe Sauls-Addison, whose credits include Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.

“When we put out our book “Hard Girls, Soft Light’ this past spring, we sent out two girls on a book-signing tour up and down the West Coast,” says co-founder Missy Suicide (aka Selena Mooney). “Between 500 and 700 people showed up at each signing, and we were like, “OK, it’s time to put on a better show than that. It’s time to put the burlesque show back on the road.”

Suicide says she and partner Sean Suhl decided to put the show on ice after a run performing in arenas with Guns N’ Roses just to give both the dancers and the concept a bit of a rest. But coming back, the group is finding itself in a different environment that’s both more competitive and more challenging.

Advertisement

“Back then we were the only ones doing sort of nontraditional burlesque on a large scale,” Suicide explains. “During the ensuing six years there have been lots of people doing nontraditional burlesque, even large-scale spectacle shows like Lady Gaga and whatnot. So we’ve really had to up our game.

“I mean, it was a lot of pressure, but it’s been really well received and we’re really happy and hoping we can take the tour international now. I’m very partial to it; it’s all modern and really fun and full of pop culture sort of references, from “Game of Thrones’ to “Star Wars’ to “Dr. Who.’ It’s really great to be back again.”